Deceased
by Clear Eyed Dreamer
Summary: He was hers. He was her husband, her friend, and at times, her enemy, but she had always loved him. Bulma’s thoughts following the death of her husband. One-shot.


Deceased

Summary: He was hers. He was her husband, her friend, and at times, her enemy, but she had always loved him. Bulma's thoughts following the death of her husband. One-shot.

* * *

A disease. He was diagnosed with it months ago, but he thought nothing of it. He thought he could beat it, I had hoped that he could. It wasn't until the final month that I knew that he couldn't. No one else would have been able to tell, but I could. He was slowing down, getting winded easier, and getting hurt more, until the point where his training only lasted a couple of hours a day. I could see the pain he tried so hard to hide. His final day he spent with us, his family. He knew he was dying. I promised myself I wouldn't cry that day, and I didn't, I was saving all my tears for after he was gone.

That night, I was awoken by a soft kiss from the man I love. His eyes wavered slightly as he smirked at me, like he always had, and told me to go back to sleep. I knew then that he was leaving, truly leaving. He would take care of his own physical body, like he had with Buu. He wouldn't want to burden me, or upset us by seeing him in death. Even in death he had his pride.

I tried for him, but I could not go back to sleep. The tears wouldn't let me, and I couldn't stop them from coming. At some point in the early morning, I had gone to the kitchen for a drink, and had ended up in the living room. That's where Trunks found me early that morning, eyes red, and tears still streaming. I didn't have to say a word, he didn't have to ask. He sat down on the sofa beside me and wrapped his arms around me, trying in vain to console me. You can't console someone who has just lost half of their whole. He looks so much like his father, the set and shape of his features could be an exact duplicate. Looking at him was like seeing the ghost of my Prince, and only served to upset me more. I would never see him again, but would forever have to stare into his features on the face of our son.

I heard footsteps on the stairway and excused myself, I would not be the one to tell my daughter that her father was gone. I could not, I could not take her grief onto myself, I could not be a mother. I knew this made Trunks angry, but who was he to judge me? I lost the man I love, and had loved for more than twenty years. This thought only brought more tears. I don't know how I'm going to get through this, any time I needed emotional support, it was him I had turned to. He was always a stone, hard and unmovable, and that made me stronger, he had made me stronger. I know he would scoff at my tears, but for once, I can't be strong for him, not when I know he's gone and I'm left on Earth.

A sob broke out from the living room, and I knew the news had been broken to my daughter. She was his Princess, the perfect 'Daddy's girl', and she adored him. He could never tell her 'no' and would never intentionally upset her. He told me once that it was because she was a miniature version of myself, that he catered to her so. She had stomped into the kitchen and began angrily yelling at me for not telling her, for not waking her up. I didn't care, I could barely comprehend anything she was saying. I turned away from her and walked away, leaving her to stand there crying and screaming.

I found myself outside, and I looked upwards to the sky. He came from space, from another planet, underwent heinous torture, and was trained to kill with no remorse, but for some reason, he let me in, when no one else was permitted. I let him in too. I trusted him when no one else would, and I gave him all I could when he had nothing. In return, I found not only love and happiness, but a formidable opponent for my wit and for my temper.

He was my husband by title, my lover by action. He had shown me the value of little niceties, and how little words actually meant. He had been there when I felt I had no one, and had given me a shoulder to cry on with each passing of my parents. He had given me a wonderful son, and an amazing daughter. I will always be grateful for everything he gave me, everything he showed me, and mostly, for how much I know he loved me.

He will forever be missed, and he will always be held in my heart.


End file.
